News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-05-19
MYSTERIES OF A DAY.
NOTES OF THE STRANGE AND
CURIOUS.

SShIoSos
At the Keyhole-An Artists Studio
-Equipping a Soldier-The Ele-
yator-A Singular Fall, Etc, Etc.
ROBBED. few days ago John Work
man, a farmer of Chatham, Ill, drew
$4,000 from the bank preparatory to
starting ON cattle buying trip. Just
before he was to leave his home q gen
tlemanly appearing man, who said he
was buying land, drove up and asked
Workman to show him over the farm.
Workman got i'll the buggy, and the two
men rode together. Soon an elegant
two-horse rig came to the farm, bring
ing another stylish-looking man, who
claimed to be an agent for the sale of
agricultural implements. The three
men engaged in conversation for while,
and suddenly the strangers seized Work
man, threw him to the ground; and took
from his pockets $4,000 in money. They
succeeded in getting away before their
victim could give the alarm.
ONE afternoon recently a Boston man
found his keyhole stopped with wax
when he went home in the afternoon.
The police were asked to try to catch
the parties who had taken the impress
sion of the lock. The officers secreted
themselves in the house and prepared
for a nights watch for the thieves, who
were expected to descend upon the place.
But early in the evening it was explain
ed that the governess, who has a sweet
tooth, is in the habit of carrying caramels
in the same pocket with her door-key,
and some of the sweetmeats stuck to the
key. She used it during the day, and
the waxy appearing substance became
scraped from the key and remained in
the lock.
A Observation-Disclosures the most unique
celebration of the German Emperor
Williams birthday was that which took
place 1000 feet high on the southern
summit of the Bavarian Alps. Two
mountaineers-Stanzi and Walch by
name-ascended to this elevation, and
then kindled bonfire, the materials for
which they had laboriously dragged with
them. They had intended climbing to
the very summit of the Watzmann, but
deep snow prevented this, and the bon
fire of wood and petroleum was Lit on
the Falzkopfi. The ascent of the noun
tain often brought the climbers up to
the shoulders in snow, but they were de-
ternined to perform the feat, and they
did.
OK the plantation of Caleb J. Harris
near Turin, Ga, lives an aged colored
woman who claims to be LOG years old,
and has pretty good proof that she is
correct in her statement. Her eldest
living child is between so and 80, and
has great-great grandchildren. Her
youngest child, with whom she is now
living, has several grandchildren. She
does the cooking for a family of eleven,
and, in addition to her kitchen duties,
finds time to do all her sewing. Her eye
sight is almost as good as it was fifty or
seventy-tive years ago, and she has never
had occasion to use glasses; never took a
dose of medicine, and never needed the
services of a physician.
A CHICAGO newspaper man says that
four young artists of that city, being
hard up, decided few weeks ago to
paint copy of Muncaksy's ''Christ Be
fore Plate" Providing themselves with
of the painting the quartet
of artists went to work with big brushes
and buckets of paint. They worked rap
idly and with enthusiasm, and as re-
suit of their labors they now have pic
tTe 80 feet long and II feet wide. The
figures in the foreground are feet high,
and the work, as whole, is said to be
one of great strength and vivid realism.
The young men expect to make $4,000
apiece out of their venture.
WooD oil is made on large scale in
Sweden from the refuse of timber cut |
tings and forest clearings, and from
stumps and roots; and, although it can
not well be burned in common lamps on
account of the heavy proportion of car
bon it contains, it furnishes a satisfactory
light in lamps especially made forit, and
in its natural state is said to be the
cheapest of Illuminating oils. Thirty |
produce about forty thousand
liters of the oil daily; turpentine, creo-
sote, acetic acid, charcoal, coal tar oils, |
and other useful substances are also OBJ
tanned from the same materials.
GAssY.-Cincinnati capitalists, looking
for natural gas, not long ago bought an
option on a farm in Findlay, O., for
$50, 600 cash, with the privilege of buy
ing outright within six months for $780, |
900 more. Wells were put down and |
gas found, but before the option eX-
PRED the farmer died. Then it was
found that the farm was in his wife's |
name, and that neither the wife nor
children knew anything of the $4,000 |
that had been paid. The spectators
could not get the place even for $3.50, 600. |
1t is supposed that the farmer buried |
the money paid him.
LINENEN repairing the telephone wires |
between Marysville and Sacramento |
found that half mile of wire was miss
ing, having been washed away by high !
water in Bear River. Knowing that the |
line was needed constantly, and not hay
ing wire enough with them, the lincmen |
dragged the ends of the wire to a barbed |
wire fence near the railroad track and |
them to it. Upon returning to |
they asked the employees at |
the bank how the wire was working, and |
they said it was doing finely. Their mes
sages had been passing over half mile |
Of barbed wire fence.
A GENTLEMAN interested in the COM
merce of the great lakes SAYS that it is
sung 1tII'INAAJ W sc uuIlS. WGIUV
years ago a propeller that could carry
10000 bushels of grain or 1000 tons of |
coal was considered monster, but there
ire many now in the trade between Buff
falO and Chicago and Cleveland and Du-
uth that carry over 1000 bushels of
grain in a single cargo. The Onoko, one
Of our great iron propellers, takes 100, 900
bushels of oats in single cargo. These
arge vessels are fast crowding the small
II propellers and sailing vessels off of
ihe lakes.
THE United States Ordnance Depart
nent has made a computation which
shows that when a soldier is equipped
With rod, bayonet, rifle and cartridge
1elt, three days cooked rations, and 100
Ounds of ball cartridges and exit of
clothing, he carries total weight of 80
pounds 2.58 ounces. With Springfield
life, bayOnet, scabbard, cartridge boxes
md leather belt, clothing, ammunition,
tic, the load is 81 pounds 1.64 ounces,
md with Springfield rifle, bayonet, car
ridge belt, clothing, ammunition, etc,
he weight is 53 pounds 49, 90 ounces.
A MAN weighing 248 pounds fell from
he gallery of Brooklyn theatre into the
,arquet. The injured man was believed
1 L, I'LL